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Holy Boating in Renuka Lake

After spending most of the forenoon in “Imperial Leisure” at the HPTDC Renuka, the four of us finally decided to go down near the Renuka Lake to stretch our legs and take a little look around. Right across the gate of the hotel lay the Boating Point but since two of our group had fear of water, we moved on in a different direction. A little later, it somehow transpired that we all decided to go for a boating ride.

As we went near the ticket booth, we saw some other tourists near the landing area in the process of removing or wearing their shoes. We also observed that everyone in the boats were wearing an orange coloured contraption across their torsos. Our interests in these strange activities piqued, we enquired and found out that since Renuka Lake is a holy waterbody, it was essential to remove shoes before going onto the lake, while the orange contraption was a life jacket which essentially comprised of few pieces of foam covered in the orange cloth and a few nylon straps to tie the thing around the chest and waist.

We complied with the necessary directives and got onto the boat. While two of our group worked out their leg muscles on the tandem paddle setup, the remaining two sat around enjoying the views all around. Although the lake stretched deep into the valley, the limit for boating activities was marked by two red flags hung on trees on either bank. The effect of the rules for boating and the holy stature of the lake were better evident while we were actually in the middle of the lake itself. The waters were pretty clean and clear, and we were able to spot quite a few fishes swimming around peacefully.

After around half an hour of boating, we came out and directly headed to the restaurant of the HPTDC Renuka. Whatever little activity we had indulged in was enough to fire up our appetite once more and we happily resorted to gorging on local delicacies – Sepu Vadi, Palda and Jhol – in addition to the regular black daal, rotis and rice. Thereafter, it was time to continue on further relaxation and enjoyment of our leisure, for we were headed back to our respective cities of residence the next day.

Boating Point; Photo: Ameen Shaikh

Turnaround Limit; Photo: Ameen Shaikh

Reflections Galore; Photo: Ameen Shaikh

Distorted Reality; Photo: Ameen Shaikh

Left to Right: Ameen, Abhishek, Anil alias Goldy and Adbi after the boating session at Renuka Lake